Computer Reviews

Systemax have become a large producer of computer systems, proudly boasted as being assembled and supported in the USA, they have a good choice of computer components to round out their systems.

The TigerShark is a computer system based on the Intel Pentium D Dual Core processor, and ready for SLI gaming.

The case is fairly functional with the see through side panel that so many people associate with gaming computers. The front panels open up to reveal the optical drives and the USB ports are at the side of the front panel.

By packaging the standard model with the Pentium 805, they have managed to keep the price down. The 805 however is only cool for those who like to overclock as the standard speeds are not that impressive, especially seeing how much this computer system costs. You can upgrade to faster options if you want, which will only cost you a little more, and are probably worth it.

The Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce motherboard is a good choice and cannot be changed anyway. You have the choice between the 7900GT and GTX from BFG for the graphics card and you can opt for two cards for SLI.

Hard drive options are numerous, but keeping with speed, many of them offer the Raptor series from Western Digital. There are also options for RAID arrays, bigger drives, and apart from the main setup, room for extra drives so you can have a fast operating sytem drive and a big, second drive for all those DVDs and home movies on you computer.

The rest of the computer components are quite standard and many of them you might want to choose something besides the standard options. If you do order something else, you will have to do the installation yourself, so if you really don’t like to put in computer components by yourself, go for the standard ones.

Finally, if you really want a fast computer, but are don’t want to get down and dirty building your own system, this one will do nicely. Those who want ultimate customization will likely need to choose parts individually.

Computer water cooling has become very popular computer components upgrade and the Thermaltake Big Water SE is aimed at those who would quickly like to get into the world of computer water cooling for their computer. Water cooling is not new to computers but has been the realm of those into extreme overclocking and those who modify their computers alot.

The Thermaltake Big Water SE computer water cooling system tackles that by offering an all-in-one beginners kit to get you started with your liquid cooling system. It comes with basically everything you could need for your system with nothing lacking for a basic install.

What you get with the system are…

• Waterblock, which cools the CPU
• Water pump
• DVD drive sized Coolant tank
• Radiator and fan (120mm fan)
• Coolant (enough for one install)
• Enough tubing to get around most systems

Although the computer water cooling system is more complicated to install than an air cooled solution, the well documented manual and well labelled parts make it that much easier. As long as you have a little time, it should be fine.

You will need to have space for a 120mm fan which is the size of the fan over the radiator, although there are alternatives if that isn’t available. Be prepared with something to cut your case if needs be.

The system itself does offer a slight amount of cooling over a standard well vented system. Other people who bought and installed the system reported differing levels of cooling, even up to 14 degrees celcius lower in some cases.

This is all well and good but the other good feature is low noise. With many fans cooling high powered systems the noise can become unbearable. With only a single 120mm fan in operation and the pumps and stuff only making a slight noise, a computer water cooling system will be able to take advantage of greater cooling and reduced temperatures at the same time.

For hardcore overclocking types, this is not for you. But for those looking for a good, reliable solution for a decent price the Thermaltake Big Water SE certainly fits the bill as a more than decent computer water cooling solution.

The Toshiba Tecra S3 has been designed to improve the security, connectivity and durability of previous Toshiba laptops. It is not that much better looking, but does manage to make it in those areas. Let’s have a look at what earns it the “rugged computer” label.

It claims to meet the ROHS (Restiction of Hazardous Substances). In reality this means that it will most likely be able to take a spill of breakfast and not be any worse off because of it. This is aided by making the case almost waterproof and this is obvious with the protective stuff under the keyboard that keeps moisture out.

Security was improved with the use of a biometric finger scanner which allows you to sign on and have files encrypted with 2048 bit security. This is vital for a rugged computer which could quite easily be stolen.

This Toshiba laptop has been given a whole host of features to allow it to withstand the bumps and shocks that computers on the move go through. The space around the screen is larger so that it takes the brunt of the force during a drop, rather than the screen. There are also sensors that lock the heads of the hard drive to protect it.

The software suite that comes with this Toshiba laptop handles all of the connectivity and keeps you in control of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections on the computer.

There is no microphone and no camera on this particular Toshiba laptop, most likely because it is designed to be a rugged computer. The microphone poses a problem as a point where fluid could get into the computer.

Overall this rugged computer does well, and leaves very little wanting. With a weight of just over 6 pounds, it is not light, but it makes up for that with its durability.